Aguilera, who took a hiatus
for the current season in order to promote her Lotus album, was replaced by Shakira on the show, which has just gone into its live rounds. Fellow judge Cee Lo Green also skipped the current season in order to work on his Loberace Las Vegas show and other projects,
is also in talks to make his return to the show; he was replaced by Usher.

The Hollywood Reporter claimed that Aguilera’s salary for season five could be in the vicinity of $12 million, though other reports peg her salary as high as $17 million, which is just a shade under the $18 million Mariah Carey reportedly earned for her one season of “American Idol.”

When Aguilera and Green announced their plans to take a powder last summer, show producer Mark Burnett said it was not unexpected for stars of their stature to have other commitments that might take them away from the program from time to time.
Fellow judges Adam Levine and Blake Shelton are expected to be back for season five as well.

A spokesperson for NBC could not be reached for comment at press time and network representatives did not discuss the judges during their upfront presentation to advertisers on the 2014 season on Monday in New York.